People my age face more instability than any previous generation, stemming from a potent combination of crippling student debt, rampant economic inequality, job insecurity—for starters. This says to me: You can plan all you want, but there are greater forces at work. These forces have little regard for your so-called plan.

"This city is simultaneously strikingly beautiful and nauseating. Plants flourish, completely untamed; impressive succulents and greenery line the sidewalks. Flowers display themselves in every color of the rainbow. There's nothing quite like seeing the sparkling downtown skyline at night for the first time. Yet, there are also immense piles of garbage to reason with: overflowing dumpsters and abandoned heaps of trash. The stench of rotting refuse intermingles with occasional ocean breezes. Smog perpetually coats the city in a dusty beige and settles on everything from cars to skin. Sometimes, after a long day, I find myself hopelessly scrubbing grime from my skin—the dirtier parts of the city clinging to me."

"While making lingerie wasn’t initially her intent, Williams’ clientele asked for more options. Now, her Etsy store is full of bralettes, underwear and bodysuits, crafted from delicate mesh, lace, and satin. Her Instagram page is full of people with all sizes and shapes of bodies, looking effortlessly cool in anything from lace-up velvet knickers to whimsically light mesh bralettes completed with flowering ocotillo."

I ironed out my 52nd hike on top of Flatiron, a protruding, iron-shaped rock formation in the Superstition Wilderness, with nothing but a cloudy, foggy, abyss below me. It rained the vast majority of the way up and started sleeting at the top.

Growing up a queer, artistic, brown boy in a cis, conservative, white-dominated environment led to me to question every normality. I couldn’t comprehend why certain, hollow behaviors were compulsory. I wasn’t afraid of being deviant, but opposing thoughts were rarely accepted in this town.

By Grace B. FenlasonI wasn’t initially set up to enjoy Girls. And at first, I didn’t. I was in a comfortable relationship, was still in college and was just too young. I hadn’t lived enough to understand the heartbreaks, the anxiety and the self sabotage of the characters.

For Laura Mayaneli Brown and Niles Keith, ice cream and art are the perfect ways to build community. Both residing in Albuquerque, N.M., the two were brought together by a shared love for food, creativity and having a good time.